T-Bones shatter attendance records

Although it ended with the Kansas City T-Bones dropping their final home game of the 2005 season, last weekend proved to be a record-setting occasion at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

Saturday's crowd, which was announced at 9,013 fans, watched the T-Bones defeat the Sioux Falls Canaries, 3-1. The crowd set the team's single-game attendance record at the three-year-old stadium in Kansas City, Kan. The total smashed the previous attendance record of 8,510 fans, set on Aug. 7, 2004. This season's previous attendance high of 7,534 was set July 30.

A day later, fans helped shatter the season-attendance mark. Sunday's announced crowd of 6,188, which team's 7-5 loss to the Canaries in the season-finale, was good enough to put this year's paid-attendance total at 244,414, according to team documents. The total surpassed last-season's previous high of 238,745 and was achieved in only 44 home games. A normal season calls for 48 home games but three contests were scrapped this year because of rainouts. The team played 47 home games in 2004.

This season's per-game average of 5,555 also topped last season's previous high of 5,080.

After Sunday's loss, players and coaches alike expressed their gratitude to the legions of T-Bones faithful.

"244,000 -- I think that says it all," manager Al Gallagher said. "They're still here at the end. We haven't really had as great as a season as we would like to and they're still rooting for us."

Even as the T-Bones slipped in the Northern League standings during the second half of the season, the fans still showed up in droves -- and the players on the field took notice.

"The fans support is still high," said pitcher Jonathon Krysa, who has been with the team since its inception. "It's always electric out here and it gets your adrenaline pumping."

Sunday's loss dropped the T-Bones to 17-25 in the second-half of the season.

Kansas City finished its season with a Canadian road trip. The team played on the road against the Edmonton Cracker-Cats and then finished the season with a series against the Calgary Vipers that ended Sunday.